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To commemorate the Smithsonian Presents Travels with Rick Steves magazine — now on sale online, and at newsstands nationwide — Rick is blogging about the 20 top destinations featured in that issue. One of those destinations is England’s Cotswolds.
For three decades, I’ve said it’s a temptation for a travel writer to overuse the word “quaint,” and I reserve my use of that word to describe England’s Cotswold villages. The Cotswolds — while a world apart from London — are just a couple of hours’ drive away. This tidy little region of characteristic old towns is perfect for the American traveler looking to balance urban Britain with some thatched cuteness.
Each of Europe’s famous cutesy regions has a historical basis for its present-day charm. For the Cotswolds, it’s a combination of old sheep wealth (big fancy manor houses, gorgeous churches, and stately market towns — all paid for by wool) and isolation. The Cotswolds have been isolated from the rest of England both economically (since the wool trade collapsed) and physically (highway and train service to the region is sparse, making it a kind of backwater that missed the modern economic current).
Of course, these poster-child-pretty English villages are very touristy. And, as in just about any much-promoted region (Germany’s Rhineland, Italy’s Tuscany, Ireland’s Ring of Kerry, France’s Provence), the tourist circuit is a well-trampled route, with parking lots big enough for buses, hotels that can accommodate 50-person tour groups, and huggable traffic-free villages.
The challenge, of course, is to get behind the touristy facade. I make a point to leave Wiesbaden on the Rhine, Greve in Tuscany, and Killarney in Ireland to the big-bus tourists. The towns to avoid in the Cotswolds are Bourton-on-the-Water and Broadway. But there are always alternatives without the aggressive promotional budgets and favor of the national tourist board.
To get beyond the cliches, travelers need to find the rough underbelly. I have an appetite for local scuttlebutt that isn’t promoted by the sanitized, politically correct tourist boards. Ditch the glossy brochures, and gossip with locals in the pubs. Asking a native over a pint about traditions that persist even in the touristy present, I was told of “ferret legging” as a way of testing the toughness of young lads. They’d make the young man put on a pair of baggy pants, tie off the cuffs, then insert two angry ferrets (little weasel-like creatures) who would fight it out inside the pants while he was wearing them. (I don’t know if this still happens…but the image has certainly stuck with me.)
Admittedly, most Cotswold residents who can afford to live in these cutesy towns are escapees from the big city. They’re wealthy and enjoying the idyllic English retirement of their dreams. But the lanes, cemeteries, thatches, and old churches have a plush and fragrant connection with their past.
Cemeteries in Cotswold churchyards are often built up over years of burials, leaving the path to the village church actually lower than the graveyard ground level. Tolkien-esque trees seem to grip old churches. In Stow-on-the-Wold, I swear the side door to the church — flanked by two ancient yew trees — was the sight of the classic “Behold I stand at the door and knock” scene.
In the touristy Cotswolds, spend some time in the less-pretty towns in the less-pretty pubs, and be sure to talk to locals. And if someone wants to drop a couple of angry ferrets down your trousers, buy them a pint and say, “After you.”
Yes !! It’s the person you meet in New Zealand who invites you home for dinner – or the inebriated and truculent German on the S-Bahn in Munich (with his articulate English speaking wife and their Dalmation) who invite you home to BE dinner. And the Italian who at 9 pm insists you follow him to a crowded hotel in Rovigni and then persuades the desk to take care of these lost Americans. That is really what part of travel is about. But on a tour, if you have a great guide, that’s amore’
Great Ferret Legging entry in Wikipedia. This must result in serious injuries sometimes, I would be particularly concerned about the family jewels… http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ferret_legging
Ferret Legging made the news recently: http://www.myfoxaustin.com/dpps/news/ferret-legging-contest-causes-a-furor-dpgoh-20100517-fc_7576389
One of my favorite UK nights was spent singing karaoke till 4am with local “accountancy” students in a Chipping Campden, 2-3 room pub. Great advice: there’re plenty of non-kitschy spots throughout the Cotswolds if you pause to ask. Also not to be missed? Cotswolds’ own Rollwright stones impressed far more than the crowds at Stone Henge. Take a picnic and eat in the center.
The best sticky toffee pudding was at Baker’s Pub in Broadway. Roy took us there. Great food and fantastic music!
Tolkien-esque, I like it.
Thinker, is it really necessary to state the obvious? Also, I’m afraid I am not familiar with Rick’s reference to “Behold I stand at the door and knock” scene. Could someone enlighten me?
Revelation 3:20
The Two trees on either side of the Door are a reference to the Doors of Durin scene from “The Lord of the Rings”. Which makes sense considering he previously called the trees “Tolkien-esque”
Ah, but avoiding Bourton-on-the-Water would be a real shame. It’s such a pretty little town with nice pubs and tea houses. Just go in a time other than the high season… =)
Does anyone know where that beautiful picture,with the lavendar,in the articles was taken? Our daughter is teaching in Oxford and we plan to visit in the spring.
This is really nice! Seems to be very unique in a way that its unique features. This shows simplicity,elegant and beauty. Thanks for this review!
Hello Suzanne Bilby – The picture with the lavender is of the Swan Hotel at Bibury. Maybe you have already visited as spring has gone and it is now summer!
Thanks for the post. Nice one. Typically people will chose common animals such as cats, dogs, fish and birds to have as pets but ferrets have become more and more popular to have in homes. Ferrets are very social animals and are quite curious. They do not become bored easily as they have been known to entertain themselves as well as others in their surroundings. You can find much more information in this great little Ferrets Book by Animal Planet. Remember, like having any pet, having a ferret for a pet is a big responsibility! However, with proper care and training, you can enjoy each other for many many years.